Angels
by neko-nya
Summary: When humanity is lost, the two of them are left to face the end together. AoKise one-shot.


_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

Finally at a safe distance, he collapses to the ground and drags himself further into the warehouse. The pain still hasn't hit him yet, allowing him to pull himself up into sitting position against a nearby tower of crates. The simple act is enough to leave him winded. He clutches his wound, though he can't tell whether the pressures doing more harm or good at this point—not when he can feel the blood seeping through his fingers.

"This is Yellow."

The pain is starting to kick in, making him curl up.

"Yellow to anyone," he gasps into the radio. "Does anybody copy? …is there anyone left? I'm at the warehouse in the second zone…" He trails off into shaky breaths and whimpers.

There's nothing but static on the other end.

"Kurokocchi? Kagamicchi? Midorimacchi? …where did you all go?" He lowers the radio, opting to put more pressure on the wound instead. The room is spinning and he wishes it would stop. There are tears trailing down his cheeks. Or is it sweat? "Aominecchi? It hurts…I'm scared, Aominecchi…" he confesses to the emptiness.

Kise wonders how it all happened—how it came to this. If he closes his eyes, he can see how everything used to be as though it were mere minutes ago. It seems like just yesterday that they were outside playing basketball and talking about their paths after high school.

It's a beautiful world. The sun's shining high in the sky and there are distant murmurs from the people on the streets. He remembers the streets and buildings, unbroken. He remembers all the strangers around him with their vibrant faces, some of them are smiling while others indifferent. He remembers the courts and the familiar sound of dribbling and the ball bouncing off the board. And if he tries, he can practically hear the others calling his name now.

"…-_se_! _Kise_! Oi, Kise! Open your eyes!"

His eyes crack open and he wonders when he ever closed them.

A figure comes skidding to a halt in front of him. "Kise? Are you alright? Hey, hang in there!"

Kise looks up, and in the dimly lit warehouse, he can see the concern etched on the other's face. He reaches out. "Aominecchi?"

Aomine grimaces at the sight of the wound but seems relief to have gotten a response. "Yeah, it's me."

He smiles. "I think I was having a dream. It was the day we met. When you threw that ball at me, remember?"

"What are you talking about? That was an accident."

"We were playing one-on-one," he continues.

"Did you win? Is that how you knew you were dreaming?" Aomine teases even as he takes out his first aid kit.

"You're so mean," he mutters.

"That's what you get for dozing off. Lift your hands for a sec, would you?"

He considers for a moment, telling the other to save his resources but decides against it. Aomine doesn't look like he's in the right state of mind to listen to reason anyway. "I took one down, you know?" he says instead. "It got me, but I got it better."

"It sure looks like it. Why didn't you run away?"

"It was a fast one. I didn't have time. I tried calling for help, but no one answered; not even Momocchi. I hope they're all alright."

Aomine pauses, thinking about the plumes of smoke coming out of the half-demolished building they called their headquarters. It's not much—nothing at all now—but it was one of the few buildings left standing. He thinks about the blast that separated them in the first place and how lucky they were to have survived it at all when compared to all the corpses he had to pass to get here. "You must've wrecked your radio, stupid."

They both know it's not true, but instead, Kise says, "But you heard me, Aominecchi."

Letting out a huff, Aomine pulls him a little closer. "That's because I don't need a radio. I can always hear you calling."

"Do you think Akashicchi will be mad at me for ruining the radio?" he asks.

"Probably. Don't worry, we'll find a way to fix it before he finds out, okay?" Aomine mutters, tying the bandages off. It won't be enough to stop the bleeding, but hopefully it'll slow it down. "I'll be right back. Stay here and don't fall asleep, okay?" With that, Aomine walks off, or rather, he limps off towards the entrance with his equipment tucked under his arms.

When the other finally returns, he realizes that the world's tilted and wonders when he slumped over. "Where'd you go?"

"I rigged the entrance with all the explosives we have left. There isn't much else we can do while we wait for the others," Aomine explains.

It's a lie.

It's multiple lies bundled into one.

He planted most of the explosives by the entrance but left one in his tool kit just in case.

Aomine takes a seat next to him, allowing Kise to rest his head on his lap.

"What happened to your leg?"

"It's not a big deal. It's just a sprain." More lies. He can barely put any weight on it without searing pain shooting up his spine, but he's not about to admit to that out loud. "There's nothing that can be done about it now."

He's shaking and sweating. The blood's seeping through the bandages. He licks his lips but can't seem to wet them. "Aominecchi, I'm cold."

There's rustling as Aomine takes his jacket off and wraps it around him. "Yeah, there's a bit of a draft in here."

There's no draft, just like how there's no help on its way.

They both know but neither mention it.

"Are you thirsty?"

He nods and his is head tilted up, a water bottle pressed to his lips.

"Take small sips or you'll choke."

He only manages one.

The water relieves his thirst for only a second, but it grants him a moment of clarity and fear. Lying back down, he manages to fight gravity, which seems to be getting stronger with every passing minute, enough to lift his arm to tug at the other boy's shirt. He remembers about the blood on his hands too late and his fingers leave dark red blotches behind on the fabric. "Aominecchi, you should get out of here before they find us. You can leave the detonator here and I can take care of it," he says through chattering teeth.

"What are you babbling on about? I can't exactly run with my leg like this," Aomine argues.

"But you can still get out of this warehouse. We're trapped in here. You should escape while I'm still brave enough to let you go."

There's a pause.

"Did you hit your head as well? I'm not going anywhere."

"But—"

Aomine frowns and flicks his forehead. "Shut up, Kise. I'm not leaving you behind; because I already decided a long time ago that I'd be the guy who stays by your side even when the world ends."

Knowing defeat when he hears it, Kise closes his eyes and lets out a shaky sigh. His brows furrow in pain at the exhale and he clutches at his wound. He manages a smile, or, he hope he does. "You're always so cool."

The ground starts trembling, it's hardly noticeable, but it's only a matter of time.

He pulls Kise a little closer and brushes his bangs out of the way.

Cracking his eyes open, Kise calls out, his voice is soft and raspy, "A-Aominecchi?"

"What is it?"

"Would you mind if I took a nap?"

Aomine shakes his head and wipes the sweat off the other's brows. "No. Go ahead. I'll wake you up when someone finds us."

"…Aominecchi?"

"Hmm?"

"Hold my hand?"

Without hesitation, he reaches out and clasps Kise's free hand, cold and clammy and covered in blood. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know. S'why I'm not scared." Kise smiles and closes his eyes. "Goodnight, Aominecchi."

Holding the tears back, he looks down at the other's boy pale, beautiful face as the tremors in the ground grow stronger.

"Hey, Kise…"

No response.

The hand in his has gone limp.

"You know, you were right. That first day we met, it wasn't an accident," he confesses quietly. "You were so well known and I'd see you walking around at school. And…"

The ground is shaking as silhouettes appear at the entrance of the warehouse. Aomine holds the other boy a little tighter and reaches for the detonator.

"I just really wanted a chance to talk to you."

* * *

_It's a beautiful day when he spots a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. Without thinking, he hurls the ball and watches as it goes sailing through the air, straight towards its target._

_"Ouch!"_

_He grins and jogs over._

_"Sorry. My…if it isn't the famous and popular Kise-kun!"_

* * *

A/N: The title's from The XX's 'Angels', it seemed like the most appropriate song in my 'sad playlist'. As always, sorry about the crappy summary OTZ One day, I'll discover the secret to writing them. I finished reading SNK and really wanted to write something apocalyptic, so if you ask what invaded, I'll probably say titans. Way to start the new year, eh?

Happy New Year! Hope you had a good one!


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